Archived issue · August 2026 · Published

Platton Import Index

This is the August 2026 issue. Read the current issue →

The Platton Import Index reads tighter for August 2026 than it did for July. Transpacific spot rates climbed again, with Shanghai to New York at $9,507 per 40ft and Shanghai to Los Angeles at $6,802, both up 9% in a week on Drewry's World Container Index, while carriers pulled 9% of August capacity off the Asia to US East Coast trade. July US containerized imports came in at 2.51 million TEU per Descartes, up 4.5% on June. And a 50% Section 338 tariff on Canadian vehicles, alcohol and dairy took effect on 22 August.

One page, updated every month: what ocean rates, US import volumes and import rules did, and what each number means if you are the one importing. The figures come from named public sources, the reading of them is ours.

August 2026

Ocean rates on the core import lanes

Spot rates, Drewry World Container Index, 20 August 2026

Lane Spot rate (per 40ft) Week over week Source
Shanghai to Los Angeles $6,802 +9% Drewry WCI, Aug 20
Shanghai to New York $9,507 +9% Drewry WCI, Aug 20
Global composite $4,526 +4% Drewry WCI, Aug 20

The transpacific has now run up for four straight weeks. Shanghai to Los Angeles has added 558 dollars a container since the 13 August reading and Shanghai to New York has added 801, so a booking made at the start of the month priced very differently from one made at the end of it.

What this means for an importer: if you have cargo ready in September, price it now and hold the rate rather than waiting for a correction that the capacity numbers below do not support. How these rates break into surcharges is covered in our ocean freight rates guide.

Europe to the US East Coast

North Europe to the US East Coast reads $2,366 per 40ft on the Freightos Baltic Index lane series, taken 26 August, up from $2,240 nine days earlier. That is roughly a quarter of the Shanghai to New York number.

What this means for an importer: the transatlantic is moving up too but at a fraction of the pace, so if the same goods are available from an EU supplier the freight gap is widening in Europe's favor this month.

Capacity

Carriers cut August capacity on Asia to the US East Coast by 9% against July and by 0.4% on the West Coast, with seven more blank sailings announced for the coming week, per Drewry's capacity tracker.

What this means for an importer: blanked sailings are what turns a booked container into a rolled one. Ask for the vessel name on the booking and check it is still on the string a week before the cut-off.

US import volumes

July US containerized imports totaled 2,508,310 TEU per Descartes' Global Shipping Report: up 4.5% from June, down 4.3% against July 2025 and 14.1% above the 2019 baseline. The Port of Long Beach handled 467,461 import TEU in July, essentially flat year over year, with year to date volume up 1.2%, while the Port of Los Angeles slipped 1.8% against June.

What this means for an importer: volume is normal, the pressure this month is in price and in space, not in cargo waiting to move.

Rules and tariffs

A 50% additional tariff on selected Canadian goods took effect at 12:01 am eastern on 22 August under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, covering motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and dairy products. It sits on top of the ordinary duty rate, and USMCA lowers that ordinary rate without exempting the goods from the 50%.

What this means for an importer: if any part of your bill of materials crosses the Canadian border, check the classification against the covered list before the next entry, because the duty line moves before anything else does.

The Section 301 forced labor tariff of 10 to 12.5% on goods from 60 economies, in force since 24 July through USTR's action and CBP guidance, remains under challenge: 25 states filed at the Court of International Trade on 3 August seeking to block it and to refund duties already paid. Canada sits in the 10% group, and the two measures stack unless the shipment enters duty free under USMCA. What this means for an importer: keep entry records tight. If refunds materialize they will go to importers who can document what they paid. Current Section 301 exposure by list is in our Section 301 guide.

How to read the Index

The Index tracks the three things that move an importer's landed cost and calendar: what transport costs, how much cargo the system is carrying and what the government changed. Each block quotes a named public source, and the bolded line under each number is the practical read. It is a monthly snapshot, not a quote and not a forecast, and lane level pricing for a real shipment moves with equipment, routing and timing, which is what a quote is for. Sources, lane choices and cadence are documented in the methodology.

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Common Questions About the Import Index

Monthly, on the 20th of each month or the first working day after, with the new issue replacing this page so the URL always shows the current one. That date is set by the data: the national and port volume figures for the previous month are published by the middle of the month, and the rate reading is never more than a few days old. Past issues are archived by month.

Related Import Reading

Ocean freight rates guide

Every surcharge on a transpacific invoice, explained.

Ocean transit times, China to US

The real calendar behind the rate.

Trade lane guides

Routing context for these numbers, gateway by gateway.

Import Knowledge Hub

The importer's journey guides in one place.